Tag Archive: Butter

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

I came home for the holiday weekend on Wednesday night last week. Normally I cook more for the holidays but by the time I arrived most of Thanksgiving dinner had already been planned. I decided to contribute some ad hoc cookies because, well, when are extra cookies ever a bad thing?

I’m usually a purist when it comes to peanut butter cookies using this recipe. However I wanted to try one with flour and butter for a different texture to mix things up. The added ingredients make a cookie that chewy rather than crispy and slightly richer. On top I added a chocolate drizzle for the chocolate lovers in my family(but mostly for myself).

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free} Yield

Mixed some chopped peanuts or chocolate chips into the batter before baking these for an extra crunch.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 14 cookies):

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 Tablespoons creamy or chunky peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips(optional)

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free} Drizzle

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, and salt.
  3. In a small bowl, melt together the butter and peanut butter and mix.
  4. Pour the melted butter and peanut butter into the flour mixture and mix it together.
  5. Beat in the egg until all of the ingredients form a dough.
  6. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2-3 inches apart on a greased cookie tray.
  7. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the outside is firm to the touch.
  8. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving.
  9. Melt down the chocolate chips and drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cookies.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free} Plated

Double Take: Microwave Fudge

microwave-fudge

Happy President’s Day weekend to all my American readers. I’m going to admit that until 2 days ago I had no clue it was President’s Day today; in fact, I wished one of my friends a happy Martin Luther King day until I looked that up and realized I’m a month behind. Oops.

I haven’t really been in the holiday mindset since I have 5 hours of class today. Still, I don’t need an excuse to spend all weekend making desserts so that’s what I did.

microwave-fudge-stack

I can’t count the number of times I’ve posted this fudge recipe, so we’re just going to call this a “double take”. It’s one of my favorite desserts to make because it’s easy and delicious; you probably already have all the ingredients.

I’ve had readers make this without the added sugar or substituting coconut oil for the butter and I hear it works great. I haven’t tried either of those substitutions, but I have made it with coconut milk and Earth Balance margarine and it comes out terrific that way, too.

Microwave Fudge

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 16 servings):

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 4oz stick butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk(or non-dairy substitute)

microwave-fudge-2

Method:

  1. Melt together the chocolate chips and butter.
  2. Sift in the powdered sugar and pour in the milk. Mix until completely uniform.
  3. Pour the hot fudge into a 6 x 6 pan. Refrigerate until the fudge sets.
  4. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares(this might be easier to do if the fudge has softened a bit) and serve slightly chilled.

microwave-fudge-cubes

I hope you don’t wait for the next holiday to try this one out.

Yellow Mashed Potatoes

yellow-mashed-potatoes-bowl

Every year for Thanksgiving we’ve had mashed Russet potatoes, and they’ve never really caught my attention. This year, since I’ve started to warm up a lot to the organic yellow potatoes I find at Whole Foods, I thought I’d try making mashed potatoes with those. They’re slightly waxier and starchier than Russet, which makes them perfect comfort food.

This recipe uses no cream or milk—just butter, which makes it very low in lactose and milk proteins. You could easily substitute a vegan margarine for dairy-free alternative. The chives and seasoning help to give it a subtle flavor while still highlighting the potatoes. I keep the skin on since it adds some fiber and nutrients and gives the dish texture.

Yellow Mashed Potatoes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 80 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 10-12 servings):

  • 5lbs organic yellow potatoes
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped chives

yellow-mashed-potatoes

Method:

  1. Bake the potatoes skin on for an hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees until all of them are cooked through.
  2. Let the potatoes cool enough to be handled. Dice them into quarters for easy processing.
  3. Add half of the potatoes, 1/4 cup of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and puree until mostly smooth. Scoop the potatoes into a serving bowl and repeat with the same ingredients.
  4. Fold the chopped chives into the potatoes. Garnish with extra chives. Serve hot.

yellow-mashed-potatoes-scoop

Maybe if I start recipe testing now I’ll master the art of gluten-free gravy by next Thanksgiving.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

cinnamon-honey-butter

This week is all about Thanksgiving recipes. In some respects that was poor planning on my part, since Thanksgiving won’t come around again for another 51 weeks; but I hope some of these recipes you’ll be able to work in and enjoy for Christmas or other times during the year, like this one.

This was so simple to make it almost didn’t feel like a recipe at all. And yet despite how easy it is, the flavor is rich and complex. You could easily make this to keep around for breakfast on toast or dinner on squash. It’s kind of addicting; before you know it you’ll be slathering this on anything.

This recipe calls for unsalted butter; I think it’s always best to keep that in stock since you can always add salt later on. If all you have is salted butter, just omit the added salt in the recipe and it will still taste great.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

cinnamon-honey-butter-log

Method:

  1. In a small bowl, work all of the ingredients together until completely mixed together.
  2. Scoop the butter onto a piece of Saran wrap. Roll the butter into a log and place it in the refrigerator to solidify.
  3. Unwrap the butter and put it on a butter dish to serve.

cinnamon-honey-butter-serving

When I made this, I licked the bowl I mixed it in. It was simultaneously the grossest and best part of my day. The end.

Creamy Mashed Squash

creamy-mashed-squash

Is it too soon to start dreaming about Thanksgiving side dishes? We only have a little more than a month to go so I’m going to say not.

The truth is, warm, comforting Holiday dishes are so good there’s no reason not to eat them all season long, except that they might fill you out a little too fast. Mashed squash is a great healthy substitution for mashed potatoes when it’s not loaded with too many sticks of butter(I’m looking at you, Pioneer Woman).

creamy-mashed-squash-plate

This recipe calls for a very specific type of squash: Buttercup squash, otherwise known as kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin. This variety cooks softer and starchier than most other varieties so that it mashes more like a sweet potato but still has that distinct squash flavor to it. You can find buttercup squash at most grocery stores; I find mine at the farmers’ market where it’s probably cheapest at $4 a squash.

Creamy Mashed Squash

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

  • 1 medium-sized buttercup squash
  • 6 Tablespoons butter*
  • 2 Tablespoons cream or milk*
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of nutmeg

*You can also use dairy-free alternatives in place of both of these and make the dish vegan.

creamy-mashed-squash-bowl

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cut the squash in half and remove the filling and the seeds.
  3. Roast the flesh of the squash skin-on until it’s soft and scoopable—about an hour.
  4. Remove the halves from the oven and wait until they’re cool enough to handle.
  5. Carefully scoop the flesh away from the skin and combine it in a mixing bowl. Discard the remaining skin.
  6. Add the butter, cream, salt, and nutmeg to the squash and mash it with a potato masher until smooth. For an even quicker and smoother method, put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
  7. Transfer the squash to a serving bowl and serve hot.

My favorite part is the pat of butter on top. It reminds me when growing up I would steal the cold foil-wrapped slices of butter from the bread basket at restaurants and eat them plain. This recipe—I hope–is a little more appetizing than that, though.

Butter Toffee Peanut Butter

butter-toffee-peanut-butter

I’ve tried a lot of different peanut butters, but Naturally Nutty’s Butter Toffee Peanut Butter really takes the cake toast, with a sweet, buttery flavor combined with crunchy sugar granules. You can buy this peanut butter from their online store, or in stores if you’re lucky enough to live in Michigan. I, however, am cheap and a New Englander and so decided to make my own. 

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-drippy

I would take the real deal brand name any day over mine, but this homemade version isn’t half bad, or a quarter bad, or bad at all. It’s great, in fact, slightly melted onto toast first thing in the morning or a square of chocolate at night.

Don’t have the time to make your own butter toffee peanuts? Buy your own and blend them up and you can have this in 5 minutes.

Butter Toffee Peanut Butter

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(makes about 24 ounces):

  • 1lb unsalted peanuts, skin-off
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-refrigerated

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a baking tray with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
  2. In a small pot over low heat, melt the butter, sugar, and salt together.
  3. Toss the peanuts in the melted butter and sugar until fully coated and lay them out on the baking tray in an even layer.
  4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the butter and sugar start to bubble and coagulate, but making sure not to burn any of it.
  5. Remove the peanuts from the oven and let them cool completely.
  6. Move the peanuts into a food processor and blend until completely smooth.
  7. Store in sealed containers in a refrigerator for up to a month.

butter-toffee-peanut-butter-Toast

When cold, the consistency is solid yet still creamy and spreadable. You can let it sit out for 5 minutes to get even softer or microwave the jar for about 30 seconds to get it warm and drippy.

Gluten-Free Whoopie Pies

June 26th 030

Who’s ready to make whoopie?

I shouldn’t have been allowed to watch The Newlywed Game growing up; those euphemisms were not hard for a 6 year old to figure out. Also The Match Game; you don’t have to tell me where Alice told Frank to stick his blank.

I got side-tracked. I meant to tell you a different childhood memory.

June 26th 028

My grandmother-in-law(I’m not sure if that’s a real thing but that’s basically what she was) always made the best whoopie pies for celebrations. She also made the best molasses cookies, peanut butter cookies, and soft butter taffy specially for Christmas, but let’s start with whoopie pies. Between losing her and finding out I can’t eat gluten, I haven’t had a whoopie pie in probably 6 years. That’s too long.

I tried making these last December but didn’t get the recipe right and ended up making fudge pies instead. This time the cookies held their shape and tasted as well as they photographed. While the thought of making them scared me before, it won’t ever again.

This recipe uses xanthan gum, a hyper-powerful fiber that simulates the support of gluten in baked goods. I generally try to avoid using such a specialty item but every recipe for gluten-free whoopie pies I looked up stressed this ingredient and the last time I tried making these without it the cookies fell flat. It really is an essential ingredient in this recipe.

Gluten-Free Whoopie Pies(adapted from this recipe)

For the cookies:

  • 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk

For the filling:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4oz butter, room temperature
  • 2 egg whites, cold
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

June 26th 011

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
  3. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum and mix until emulsified.
  4. Add in the coconut milk, egg, egg yolk, and scant 1/4 cup of water and mix it into the dough. The dough should be heavy and stick to itself.
  5. Roll chunks of dough into 1-inch balls and put a few inches apart on the baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes until the top is firm.
  6. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling.
  7. In a bowl(chilled is best), beat on high the sugar, butter, egg whites, and vanilla together for 4-5 minutes until light and airy.
  8. Scoop 1/2 tablespoon onto one cookie and press another down on top.
  9. Repeat until all of the cookies are used.

June 26th 033

It’s always a good sign when all the desserts are eaten, and these are long gone. I was more interested in this cake but if whoopie pies are your cup of tea and you’re gluten-free, let this be a treat for you.

Alton Brown’s Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge

May 15th 095

This recipe is a life-changer.

I’ve long been obsessed with microwave chocolate fudge. I’ve tried making my own peanut butter fudge in the microwave in the past but the texture was never as good as the chocolate version. Finally, when I saw that Alton Brown had a recipe for microwave peanut butter fudge I knew I had to make it.

Alton Brown has to be my favorite Food Network chef, and not just for this recipe. Don’t get me wrong—I love watching Ina and Paula and Giada so that I can make fun of how ridiculous and fattening their “basic” recipes are. But Alton actually writes recipes like he knows what he’s doing, and that’s what makes him fun to cook from. 

May 15th 037

Overall I stuck to the recipe pretty well. I halved the recipe and the only change that I made was melting the butter only and stirring in the peanut butter until it melted, too.

May 15th 041

The fudge came out as an odd, doughy texture that was delicious but not really “fudgy.” I pressed it into a pan and let it sit in the refrigerator until it hardened up a bit and it came to the right consistency.

May 15th 088

I wouldn’t leave this at room temperature since it got soft pretty fast. But other than that it was perfect; the taste was very rich and very sweet.

In other words, I need someone to take the rest of this off my hands right away

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I’ve had a lot of gluten-free baking disasters happen to me. Cookies are the worst; there’s no protein structure in most gluten-free flours to keep them from spreading. When I read this recipe I was intrigued but skeptical. There’s no way a cookie could work with just almond flour I thought. Despite having doubts the entire time, I gave this recipe a shot and I’m so glad I did. These are perfect chocolate chip cookies, with a slight buttery flavor and tons of melted chocolate chips. The texture is soft and pillowy with a little chew. I couldn’t believe these came out as good as they did! I’m definitely saving this recipe to cook again and again.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients(Makes about 12 cookies):

  • 1 1/2 cups(6 ounces) almond flour
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375.

To make the almond flour, ground 6 ounces of almonds in a food processor until it’s all been ground into a thin flour. degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Mix in the egg. Next, add the almond flour, vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix until it’s all incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop the batter into even portions onto the parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing the cookies from the tray.

I had to try one straight out of the oven. And it did not disappoint. These would be great with a glass of chocolate almond milk for dipping. I would definitely double the recipe next time because 9 cookies just won’t be enough.

Added Note: The second time I made these(pictured) they spread out less so that the ones that went into the oven in a ball  shape came out rounded like a doughball whereas the ones that I fashioned into a disk came out in the more traditional cookie shape. The only difference between the two was in appearance; cooking time, taste, and texture all remained relatively the same.

Brussel Sprout and Potato Hash With Fried Eggs

April 4th 038

I can never have a savory breakfast; it just doesn’t appeal to me at all. I need something sweet and as close to a dessert as I can get away with eating when I wake up.

Dinner is another story. I love a big plate of hot, savory food at night. I also love eating all the “traditional” breakfast foods like hash browns then since I’d never eat them otherwise. Sure, you could make this for breakfast. But I think it’s much better for dinner. Just imagine all your cares from that day flowing away like the runny yolk when it breaks and suddenly nothing seems so bad any more. Just remember to leave room for breakfast dessert.

Brussel Sprout and Potato Hash With Fried Eggs

Ingredients(for 2 servings):

  • 1 1/2 brussel sprouts, steamed*
  • 2 medium potatoes, cooked and diced*
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup of butter, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*You can do this easily by microwaving them together for 4 minutes before starting.

April 4th 005

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add in the brussel sprouts, potatoes, and onion.

April 4th 009

Cook for 10 minutes tossing the contents of the pan periodically until all the sides have had a chance to brown. Divide the contents of the pan between two plates or bowls and return the pan over the burner.

April 4th 015

Using the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, fry each egg individually in the pan. When each is done, plate it over the hash two to a plate. When all are done, season with salt and pepper.

April 4th 032

My favorite part really is the runny yolks. If the yolks aren’t runny, well, I’d still eat it but it wouldn’t be the same. Apparently pregnant women shouldn’t eat runny yolks; I’m glad that’s never in my future.